Piling Up
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: McGee has just come to terms with Delilah's injury when he learns of his father's death.


**I don't own NCIS and never will. No copyright infringement intended.'**

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McGee's hands went numb and he dropped his phone as soon as his grandmother told him that his father had died in hospice a few hours earlier. A worried Tony picked up the phone and answered it. "Hello?" He nodded his head and then squeezed his friend's shoulder in support when Penny informed him of what had happened. "I'm sorry your dad died, McGee," he apologized after hanging up.'

McGee's head spun. "I knew this was coming. I'm fine," he lied. He and his father hadn't always gotten along, but he hadn't expected to be this devastated by the man's death. And honestly, with everything going on with Ziva, the team temporarily splitting up, and Delilah's injury, he hadn't thought about his father's impending death in a while. Too much had been on his mind. McGee kinda felt guilty about that now and hated himself for not thinking about him earlier.

Tony didn't believe a word out of his friend's mouth. "Why don't you go home? The rest of us can handle the case from here."

McGee didn't want to go home and face what was happening. He already had a hard enough time trying to convince himself that he wasn't at fault for Delilah's paralysis. Everyone had tried to tell him he wasn't to blame, but the agent didn't really believe them. "I want to work."

"Go home. That's an order. You're not thinking straight, and you know you won't be able to focus on the job." Gibbs wondered how much more McGee could handle. It seems like life was determined to break Timothy McGee for good.

McGee resisted the urge to glare at his boss and a few minutes, he sighed. "Fine, I'll go home. But I'm coming back tomorrow."

Gibbs shook his head. "I'm not allowing you to work until after the funeral. Sorry, McGee." He would make sure that McGee listened to him.

Now pissed, McGee could only nod and pack up his things. "I'll see you in a few days, I guess." He completely missed Gibbs and Tony exchanging a glance.

Tony finally spoke up. "I'll take you home and I'm not taking no for an answer." He didn't think that his friend was thinking straight and didn't want McGee getting into a car accident because he wasn't paying attention.

"Sorry," apologized Bishop as she watched Tony and McGee head towards the elevator. She waved goodbye to her co-workers.

"Thank you." Despite how angry he was, McGee did appreciate everyone's support. It meant a lot to him, and he knew he'd be more thankful when the loss wasn't so fresh.

"You're welcome. See you soon." Bishop hoped he would be okay. She didn't know him (or the others) that well, but she was worried about McGee. The hits just kept on coming for him.

After Tony drove McGee home, he headed back to work and started trying to find their suspect. Meanwhile, alone in his apartment, McGee had nothing to do but stew in his thoughts. He and his father had only talked a few times since the truth came about his illness. His anger at the man was still there, but muted (only a little bit, however). He had thought about visiting him in the past few weeks, but that was before he got caught up with Delilah (who didn't even know his father was dying or she would have insisted that McGee go see him). He wasn't sure whether to feel guilty about this or not. Right now, McGee realized, his emotions were all over the place. He just wished he could think straight.

Since Delilah was catching up with her parents, McGee decided not to visit her. He was going to stick to his plan of going to see her in the morning, before work (maybe he could stay longer since he no longer had to go in). So he turned on the TV and chose a movie that would distract him for the time being. And McGee was thrilled when it actually worked (he honestly hadn't expected it to). Despite not being tired, he finally headed to bed around midnight. McGee's sleep wasn't exactly restful as he kept dreaming about his father all night.

After waking up and showering, he headed to the diner to eat breakfast. The lack of an appetite was a challenge, but McGee still managed to choke down a few pieces of toast. After that, he paid and took a quick stroll before getting in his car to visit the rehab center Delilah currently resided in. He hoped that she wouldn't notice anything was amiss.

Delilah noticed something was wrong with her boyfriend the moment he walked through the door. She frowned, but decided not to bring it up. McGee would tell her if or when he was ready, and she was fine with that. "Hi!"

McGee forced a smile onto his face. "Hey! How are you feeling?" He was constantly worried about her and didn't think that would ever go away. It wasn't exactly easy to feel this way either and he hated it.

"I'm still taking it one day at a time, and right now, I'm okay." Delilah had good days and bad days and didn't think that was ever going to change. She hated feeling this way sometimes and had to battle her anger most days. She also tended to cry a lot more now, but Delilah was determined to pick herself up and learn to live as well as she could.

"That's good – I'm glad. So I'll be sticking around longer today. Got the day off work." He wasn't ready to tell her why yet.

Delilah wasn't sure how long she could hold off on asking him what was wrong. McGee was really freaking her out now, and that was scaring her. "Good. Maybe you can sneak me in something good to eat. The food here really sucks."

"Maybe." McGee definitely wouldn't mind getting her anything she wanted to eat. It would certainly be another distraction from what he was trying to avoid.

Delilah bit her tongue so she wouldn't break and ask him what was wrong. "So any good movies we can watch? I'm bored."

"We'll find something," he promised. McGee wanted to tell her, but that would also mean acknowledging his father was dead. He wasn't sure he was ready to accept that.

Delilah cocked her head, but launched into a story about her parents' visit the day before. They meant well, but both of them had driven her up the wall. She appreciated their support and would be thankful for it once she was home, but it was pretty annoying at the moment. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore "Tim, what's wrong? I can tell something is bothering you."

McGee sighed and looked down at his feet. His voice cracked when he started to speak. "My dad had cancer and he died yesterday," he explained.

Delilah's mouth dropped open, "I'm sorry for your loss, Tim. Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why are you here? You should be with your grandmother and sister. I wouldn't have minded f you cancelled." She felt horribly for her boyfriend.

"We didn't get along that well, and I'm so fucking angry about the way he treated me." Despite the fact that the anger had been in control for hours, McGee was still caught off guard by it.

"Come here," she encouraged. Delilah wanted to hug him (not an easy feat lately) and comfort him through this hard time. She wished she could go to the funeral with him, but that definitely wasn't going to happen.

McGee surprised himself when he dropped to his knees near the wheelchair and started sobbing in Delilah's lap. She whispered soothing words to him and just let him cry it out. "I'm sorry for falling apart on you like this, Delilah."

"Don't apologize. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry about. You should talk to your family or one of your friends. I love you, but you need them right now."

They both froze at that. "You love me?" McGee didn't know why he was surprised by that. At her nod, he beamed. "I love you, Delilah." He hadn't expected to fall in love with her, but the bombing had made him realize how he truly felt about her.'

McGee stayed for a while (after sneaking in food for his girlfriend, of course) and then went back home. He talked to both his sister and grandmother for several hours. The next day, they held the funeral and his friends attended (which surprised him). He would be dealing with the multiple events that happened to him in the span of a few weeks in the following months. Nothing was easy for Tim McGee.


End file.
